By way of example, a return device for empties is used in stores to allow customers to return bottles and tins with as little staff outlay as possible. An empty container may be associated with a deposit. To this end, the empty container or the type thereof is to be correctly identified and captured.
Return devices for empties in which an empty container is captured and identified by means of, for example, a barcode scanner are known. The empty container is rotated (along the longitudinal axis thereof) by means of a rotation device of a transporting apparatus until a barcode situated on the empty container is able to be read by the barcode scanner. This rotation process may be time-consuming, particularly in the case of many empty containers. Further, the empty container may be dirtied, for example on account of a dirty rotation device, and may no longer be captured or no longer be captured correctly.
Further, a conventional return device for empties which, for example, is fully active for many hours every day in store may have a correspondingly high power consumption.
Identifying and capturing an empty container should ensure that the inserted empty container is counted correctly and, for example, cannot be improperly removed again after the capture and reinserted.